The following is a collection of short interviews of teachers at Seattle Academy. All were asked the same three questions “Where did you go to college?” “Why did you choose that school?” and “In hindsight, were you happy with your choice?”

Sara: I’m most into photography and film, but I like to draw and I paint because I feel like I should. I really like all forms of art but I like photography and film the most and those are subjects that I’d like to major in during college.

D: Is there a particular genre that your art, in whatever form, tends to belong to?

Sara: I feel like everything that I make is dreamy, but I’m also really into trying to make a strong point about social justice which is not something I’ve always been interested in but has become something that I feel really strongly about. If you mean what “style” then I guess for film it would be experimental. I like doing fine art film. I don’t really like just doing movies.

D: Are there any artists that really inspire you?

Sara: The first photographer that really inspired me was Olivia Bee. I also really like Jean-Luc Godard, Osamu Yokonami, and I like Joseph Lorenzo, he’s also my friend but I like his work too. I also like Susie Lee. She’s from Seattle. I know I’m going to end this and think of so many more people that I really like. Oh, I also like Ryan McGinley.

D: What are some of the most recent projects you’ve been working on?

Sara: Right now I’m doing a lot of stuff to prepare my portfolio for colleges, but I’m working on a music video with my friend Bailey, whose “art name” is Nightspace. I’m also making a sculpture out of etchings from one of my films and it’s going to be a plexiglass box with a string design inside. I’m doing a zine about interactions online or digitally. It addresses how people say things like, “You guys aren’t actually communicating you’re just texting,” but there are actually lots of emotions that are a part of it.

D: What do you like most about SAAS’s art program?

Sara: I’ve only taken one photo class so I don’t really think I can talk about the photography program because I don’t really know much about it. But I really love April and Cheryl and they’re really good about giving positive reinforcement especially in sort of a “girl way.” They really want girls to succeed because the art world is so dominated by men. They’re also really into the conceptual way of doing things which is cool because at my old school I loved my art teacher there but things were very centered on grades and you had to do things a certain way to get a good grade. Even if you made a nice piece, if it didn’t meet the expectations of sticking to a specific process, then it didn’t get a good grade. So it’s cool to have a lot of the conceptual stuff which is more what I’m into.

D: What kinds of resources do you use outside of SAAS for your art? Are there any people or organizations that are helpful to you?

Sara: Right now I’m taking a class at Photo Center Northwest which is really cool. We don’t really make art in the class but it’s really helpful for developing ideas. I’m also involved in Youth in Focus which is a very inexpensive organization for at-risk youth which is very cool and anyone who reads this should definitely sign up because they are always looking for people. I also just collaborate a lot with people on the internet and that’s where I get most of my stuff. I also look at a lot of online publications and things like that.

D: Do you think that being in Seattle has any impact on your art?

Sara: Yeah. I used to live in Tacoma and there are just so many more opportunities here. I’ve been here for just a little over a year and there are just so many shows you can go to and ways to collaborate with people and submit your art and events to attend and in Tacoma there really wasn’t any of that.